Loose-leaf binder.



Patented May 1, 1917.

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E. W. HILL.

LOOSE LEAF BINDER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 12. 1915.

1,224,465. Patented May1,1917.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

3 woe/mm Edward 11 [fill EDWARD W.'HILL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

LOOSE-LEAF BINDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 1, 1917.

Application filed February 12, 1916. Serial No. 77,837.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD W. HILL, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Chicago, Illinois, have invented a new and useful Loose-Leaf Binder, of Which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to devices for binding loose leaves and papers in compact book form and one particular object of the invention is to provide a simple and practical device of this character in which theloose leaves or papers can be readily removed and replaced.

Another important object is to provide a binder in such form that all the leaves can be inserted or taken out together, instead of only a few at a time as in the binders at present on the market. I

Another object is to provide for the looking of the binder to prevent unauthorized removal or insertion of the papers.

The foregoing and other objects I have accomplished by making the'binder in the form of two separable opposed back members having leaf engaging means therebetween and detachably held together by securing means located adjacent opposite ends of said members but capable of being released from a single controlling point.

A considerable degree of adjustment of the back members to suit different thickness of the material therebetween is provided for by making the securing means in the form of rows of offset locking shoulders in one member arranged for engagement by lockin shoulders on the other member.

Other features and details of construction will appear as the specification proceeds, attention being directed to the accompanying drawings wherein I have illustrated my invention embodied in a practical and preferred form.

In these drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating the main parts of the binder in full lines and the covers and back in dotted lines, this view also illustrating, in dotted lines, the manner in which the binder is handled.

Fig. 2 is a similar view with the upper member of the binder separated from the lower member.

Fig. 3 is a rear view of the binder mechanism with parts broken away.

Fig. 1- is longitudinal sectional View of the binder mechanism, the back cover being in position and shown in section.

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially on the line 55 of Fig. 4, the upper part of the binder being indicated lifted oif in dotted lines.

Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of the push button and the locking device therefor.

The binder consists of two main parts 10 and 11 which I term the back members, and between which parts the leaves 12 are held, suitable leaf-engaging means being provided, such means being illustrated in the form of telescoping posts 13 carried by the respective members.

The back members are angular in shape as indicated, providing over-lapping back portions 1O and 11 and top and bottom portions 10 and 11', forming opposed holding means for the leaves.

one another, in the present instance, by

means of the telescopic leaf-binding posts.

provided in the construction illustrated by a series of openings or recesses in the inner back member arranged to be engaged by looking pins carried by the outer back'memher.

The locking openings or recesses in the inner back member are designated 15 and are as shown in Fig. 2 arranged in a. plurality of rows or columns with the recesses in one row arranged in line with the recesses in the companion row. The locking pins are desig nated 16 and are shown carried by spring fingers 17. The ends of these locking pins are inclined as indicated at 18 so as to cause them to yieldas the two back members are forced together, the pins automatically interlocking with the appropriate shoulders when the two back members are brought together over the leaves.

The two backing members are unlocked from each other by mounting the locking pins on a supporting plate 2O on the back of the outermost back member, which can be retracted to withdraw the locking pins from engagement with the locking shoulders. In the construction illustrated this locking plate is supported and guided on studs 21 projecting rearwardly from the back of the outer back member 11 and the retractive movement of said plate is attained by the provision of retracting levers 22 pivoted at These opposed back members are guided in sliding relation over their ends at 23 to outstanding lugs 24 on the ends of the locking :plateand pivotally supported intermediate their ends at 26 on the supporting studs 21. Springs 26. engaged beneath the retracting levers and bearing against the locking plate serve normally to thrust said plate forward with the pins thereon interlocked with the shoulders on the inner backmember, I I

For the purpose of operating said, retracting means I employ in the present disclosure a push button 30 connected at 31'to the oppositely disposed ends of the two retracting levers, said push'button working through an operating opening 32 inthe back cover 33. This back 33 covers the back plates and, the retracting mechanism and thus servesas a guard or shieldfor the same and at the same time it forms in elfecttheback ofthe'binder so that'it may be made more orjless ornamental in appearance likelthefback of 'a book and affording also a rocker-like curved surface to diminish the jar as the relatively heavy book is opened in use. The efiectpf a book is further obtained by suitable front and'back covers 34 and 35 connected with'the 'two back members.

In'the construction illustrateda relatively fine adjustment of the .two back members is obtained by off-setting the 'holding pins of each locking device, substantially asindicatedin Figs. 1, 2, and3 so that when one of saidpinsengages. with the locking .I 'ecesses in one row theother holding pin will engage the blank space between the recesses in the companion row. The two locking pins of each pair are thus arranged to alternately engage with locking shoulders in the tworowsof recesses. By adding other rows of locking shoulders andadditionalcooperating offset locking pins, stillfiner de grees of adjustment may be obtained. The supporting springs'l? which carry the looking pins are shown .in the formiof tongues cut from a single plate of spring metal. The alternating engagement of the 'ofiset locking shoulders is clearly illustrated in Fig. 3. v

From the foregoing it will be clear, that the bindercan be opened by si ply pressing on the push button. 30, thus unlocking the two back members, and then separating said two .members. The push button is preferably substantially centrally disposed and is conveniently operated. bythethumb of one hand while the upper back member is :conveniently lifted by the fingersj of the other hand as vindicated in dotted lines in Fig, 1. A thumb or finger hold may be provided in the upper member substantially as indicated at 37 so that said member may be readily grasped in-the fingers of one hand. As soon as the pressure onthe push button is released the springs 26 carry the lockingplate forward and again project the locking pins may through the holes provided for them in the back, plate 11 into position to be engaged by the back plate of the other clamp memher.

When the binder has been opened and the top lifted off any number of leaves canbe slippe do v er the post 13 or other leaf holding devices and the binder is closed upon these additional leaves by simply replacing the upper member, the'spring pressed holdingjpinsyielding. infthis ,case as the upper to prevent unauthorized removal or insertion of leaves I provide locking means of simple form f consisting of .,a stop-which is interposed in'back'of the push button. This stop for, the .push button is indicated at 40 and is shown intheform of a cam disk carried stud ll and having an upstanding shank portion/l2 extending up into a bore 43 formed the push button and bitted as indicated at 44c to be engaged by a suitable key 45. I I I I T The operation. of this locking device will be readily understood, it beingseen that when the locking cain 'is in the position indicated in,Figs. 1 and 2, said cam will stand in' line ,with a recess fl? in the underside of the t nbular push button'sothat said push button be operated ,to retract the securing means and part ;way'.to'carry it from'beneath said recess portion it will engage with the under side of the push button and",prevent the same being operated to unlock the binder.

,From the for'egoing it will be apparent means of my invention'the papers o r 'l eaves are firmly clamped at widely I separated points but can instantly be released by the simple operation of a single conveniently located controlling dei' ice. 'W'hen the top member of the binder islifted off, all or as l many sheets as desired'maybe inserted or .remoyediasa single unit. Another advantage possessed by theinvention is'that the securing means for the two parts of the binder enablesthe setting of these twoparts to practically any thickness of material within the range of adjustment of'the binder.

WhatIelaim isz II I II I 1. In, a looseleaf binder, thecombination of, opposed back members, leaf engaging means between said members, interengaging locking sh o 'ilders on the respective back members adjacent opposite ends of the same for "securing said'back members firmly together and digitally operable means for simultaneouslyreleasing-bothsets of said interengaging shoulders whereby said binder may be opened by hand without'the use of a key.

2. In a that when said cam is turned loose leaf binder, the combination of opposed back members, leaf engaging means between said members, interengaging locking shoulders on the respective back members adjacent opposite ends of the same for securing said back members firmly together, digitally operable means for simultaneously releasing both sets of said interengaging shoulders whereby said binder may be opened by hand without the use of a key and means for locking said digitally operable means inoperative to release the interengaging shoulders. 51

3. In a loose leaf binder, opposed back members, leaf engaging means between said members, means for securing said members together in adjusted relation, digitally operable means for releasing said securing means to permit separation. of the back members and means for locking said digitally operable means inoperative to release the securing means.

I. In a loose leaf binder, opposed back members, leaf engaging means between said members, a plate movably mounted on one of said members, cooperating locking shoulders on said plate and the other back member, means for normally holding the looking plate shifted into position with the cooperating locking shoulders in engagement, means for shifting the locking shoulders in a direction to release the locking shoulders and means for locking said releasing means against releasing movement.

5. In a loose leaf binder, opposed back members, leaf engaging means between said members, a locking plate mounted on one of said back members, cooperating locking shoulders on said plate and the other back member, a retracting lever operatively connected with said locking plate, a push button for operating said retracting lever, and a locking member shiftable into the plane of movement of said push button.

6. In a loose leaf binder, opposed back members, leaf engaging means between said members, a locking plate mounted on one of said back members, cooperating locking shoulders on said plate and the other back member, a retracting lever operatively connected with said locking plate, a tubular push button for operating said retracting lever, and a locking member for said push button having an operating portion disposed in the plane of the tubular push button to be thereby engaged and operated by a key inserted through said tubular push button.

7. In a loose leaf binder, opposed back members, leaf engaging means between said members, a plate movably mounted on the back of one of said back members, locking shoulders carried by said plate adjacent the opposite ends thereof, locking shoulders on the other back member arranged to be engaged by the locking shoulders on the plate carried by the first back member, means for normally holding the locking plate shifted in position with the shoulders thereon engaged with the shoulders on the other back member and means for shifting said locking plate to simultaneously release both sets of locking shoulders.

8. In a loose leaf binder, opposed back members, leaf engaging means between said members, a locking plate movably supported on the back of one of said back members, spring pressed locking dogs carried by said plate and normally projecting beyond the face of the back member on which said plate is mounted, the other said back member having shoulders to be engaged by said spring pressed locking dogs, spring means normally holding the locking plate shifted with the locking dogs engaged with said locking shoulders and means for retracting said locking plate.

9. In a loose leaf binder, opposed back members, leaf engaging means between said members, supporting studs on the back of the outermost back member, a plate guided on said studs, retracting levers pivoted on said studs and connected with the opposite ends of said plate, a substantially centrally disposed actuating member connected with said retracting levers, locking shoulders carried by said retractable plate and shoulders on the other back member to be engaged by said locking shoulders.

10. In a loose leaf binder, opposed back members, leaf engaging means between said members, supporting studs on the back of the outermost back member, a plate guided on said studs, retracting levers pivoted on said studs and connected with the opposite ends of said plate, a substantially centrally disposed actuating member connected with said retracting levers, locking shoulders carried by said retractable plate, shoulders on the other back member to be engaged by said locking shoulders and a locking member adapted to be interposed in the path of the actuating member aforesaid to prevent retracting movement of the locking plate.

11. In a loose leaf binder, opposed back members, leaf engaging means between said. members, supporting studs on the back of the outermost back member, a plate guided on said studs, retracting levers pivoted on said studs and connected with the opposite ends of said plate, a substantially centrally disposed actuating member connected with said retracting levers, locking shoulders earried by said retractable plate, shoulders on the other back member to be engaged by said locking shoulders and spring means engaged between the locking plate and the retracting means aforesaid for normally thrusting the locking plate forward with the shoulders thereon engaged with the shoulders on the other back member.

12. In a loose leaf binder, opposed back members, leaf engaging means between said members, supporting studs on the back of the outermost back member, a locking plate guided on said studs, retracting levers-pivoted on said studs and connected with opposite end portions of said locking plate, a tubular push button connected with the adjoining ends of said retracting levers, a locking member having an operating portion disposed in the plane of said tubular push button to be thereby engaged and operated by a key inserted through said tubular push button and interengaging locking shoulders on said locking plate and the other one of the back members.

13. In a loose leaf binder, opposed back members, leaf engaging means bet-ween said members, a retractable locking plate mounted on the back of the outermost back member, springs on the opposite ends of said locking plate, locking pins normally forced by said springs through the locking plate and through the back member on which said locking plate is mounted, locking shoulders on the other one of the back members arranged to be engaged by the locking pins and means for retracting the locking plate to thereby disengage the locking pins from the locking shoulders.

14:. In a loose leaf binder, opposed back members, leaf engaging means between said back members, widely spaced apart supporting studs on the back of the outermost back member, a locking plate guided on said studs and having end portions extending beyond said studs, retracting levers pivoted on the outer end portions of said locking plate, pivoted intermediate their ends on the supporting studs and having their inner ends relatively closely'approached, a'push button connecting the approached inner ends of said retracting members, spring means acting on said retracting levers to thrust the locking plate forwardly against the back of the member on which it is mounted and interengaging locking shoulders carried by the locking plate and the other back member.

15. In a loose leaf binder, opposed back members, leaf engaging means between said back members, a hollow back shielding the back of the back 'members and provided with a substantially centrally located opening, a locking plate mounted on theback of the outermost back member, interengaging locking shoulders on said locking plate and the other back member, means for retracting said locking plate and an operating member for said retracting means working in the opening in the back'of the binder aforesaid.

16. In a loose leaf binder, opposed back members, leaf engaging means between said back members, covers connected with said back members, a back shielding said back members and provided with a substantially centrally located opening, a locking plate mounted on the back of the outermost back member, locking shoulders on said locking I plate adjacent the opposite ends thereof, locking shoulders on the other back member to be engaged by said first locking shoulders, retracting means for said locking plate and a substantially centrally disposed operating member for said retracting means operating in the opening in the back.

17. In a loose leaf binder, opposed back members, one of said members having two rows of transversely extending shoulders thereon with the shoulders in one row disposed .in line with respect to the shoulders in the other row, offset locking shoulders carried by the other back member arranged forengagement with the locking shoulders on the first back member and leaf engaging members between said back members.

18. In loose leaf binder, opposed back members, one of said members having two rows of recesses therein with the recesses in one row in line with respect to the recesses in the other row, two spring arms carried by the other back member, offset locking pins on sald spring arms for engagement in the offset recesses of theother member and leaf engaging means between said back members.

19. In a loose leaf binder, inner and outer back members, said inner back member having two rows of locking recesses adjacent each end thereof, a pair of spring arms adjacent each end of the outer back member, locking pins carried by said spring arms for engagement with the locking recesses in the inner back member, means for retracting said locking pins from engagement with the locking recesses and leaf engaging means between the back members.

nected with said retracting means.

21. a loose leaf binder, back members, leaf engaging means between said members, two sets of inter-engaging locking shoulders on said'back members, said locking shoul- 'ders being 1 arranged in offset relation to thereby engage in alternation'as said back members are brought together.

22. In a loose'leaf binder,opposed back members, leaf engaging means between said back members, a hollow'back shielding the back of the back members and provided with an opening therein, a locking plate loo movably mounted on one of the back members, cooperating locking shoulders on said plate and the other back member, means for retracting the locking plate to disengage the locking shoulders, and an operating member for the retracting means Working in the opening aforesaid in the back of the binder.

23. In a loose leaf binder, back members,

10 leaf engaging means between said members,

looking shoulders arranged in parallel rows on one of said members, cooperating locking shoulders mounted on the other back memher in line With the rows of locking shoulders on the first member and disposed to engage locking shoulders in the respective rows in alternation as the back members are brought together and means for releasing the cooperating engaged locking shoulders.

EDWARD W. HILL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained'for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Eatents, Washington, D. C. 

